Archive for the Blog Posts Category

Posted by Washington Revels
In our January 2018 e-newsletter we announced a new monthly blog series, featuring letters, essays, and musings from the directorial staff at Washington Revels; the first post in this series was published in February. As 2019 begins, we thought we’d look back at all 11 blog posts (and group them in one convenient place!). The Directors’ Blog showcases a range of voices and topics, and highlights many facets

A guest post by Susan Swope
Susan Swope and her wife Shirley live near Gettysburg, PA and have been attending The Christmas Revels for nearly 20 years. Last Spring, Susan took a chance during our Spring Gala and submitted a winning bid to appear in a performance of the 2018 production. This is her story.

Posted by Washington Revels
It’s not my son’s birthday today, but there are 40 people singing a birthday song to him (and to two other people). My son is turning 9. One of the other people is turning 41, and the other is turning 73. The song isn’t the traditional “Happy Birthday” song. There are many people harmonizing, and there’s accompaniment on a half dozen ukuleles. Sound like a good quirky story

A Post by Elizabeth A. Fulford, Music Director and Evanne Brown, Assistant Music Director
While most of us have some awareness of the most notorious facts and legends about King Henry VIII (who reigned from 1509 to his death in 1547), few are aware that, in addition to his having six wives and founding the Church of England, Henry Tudor was also a poet, musician, athlete, and scholar. Originally destined, as the second son, for an ecclesiastical career, Henry received the musical training appropriate for a clergyman. An expert singer with a clear tenor voice; a player of lute, flute, recorder, cornett, and virginals; and a composer of sacred and

Posted by Washington Revels
This past Spring we asked the Revels community to share their favorite memories from the past 35 years in our “Washington Revels at 35” Retrospective. Longtime reveler Dick Kovar reminisced about his own path to the Christmas Revels chorus, and it was such a touching story about the joy of participating in this annual holiday celebration (as an audience members and a cast member) that we had to save it until closer to this year’s show. As we prepare to open this weekend, we hope you enjoy Dick’s look back at 35 years of Revels productions that have meant so much to so many

A post by Ross Wixon, Marketing Director
What would it be like to go to a concert and feel like you truly belonged? Like the performers on stage weren’t singing to you, weren’t selling you some experience — but instead to realize that they were singing and dancing along with you? That this show, this experience, couldn’t be happening if you weren’t there?

Posted by Washington Revels
People who enjoyed Jim Voorhees’ October blog post learned about the close connection between Morris dancing and Revels — but what is it like to be part of one of Washington’s Morris teams? Since the Rock Creek Morris Women will perform in The Christmas Revels this year, we thought it would be fun to keep the Morris conversation going and learn more about the dance — and the dancers — you will see this December!

Posted by Washington Revels
Piffaro, The Renaissance Band has been delighting Christmas Revels audiences in Washington since 1990. The world-renowned early music ensemble will grace the Lisner stage with its fascinating collection of period wind instruments, and these talented musicians never fail to breathe life into the beautiful music of the Renaissance. Washington Revels’ Music Director Elizabeth Fulford recently had a chance to talk with members of Piffaro about the group’s origins, its work, and its long history with The Christmas Revels. Read on to learn more about Piffaro and the musicians you can see and hear this December!

A post by Roberta Gasbarre, Artistic Director
Hello from mid-way through our Elizabethan Revels process (or should I say, “progress”)! This is always my most favorite time of the Fall. Everyone is cast and in rehearsal — Adult, Teen and Children’s Choruses — and all are learning the beautiful, rousing and fun musical pieces we will share with you in December. This is some really exquisite music we are singing, and the chorus already sounds terrific. I think of the music as the “glue” that holds our play together and moves us forward, company and audience experiencing the event in real theatrical time. In our earliest rehearsals, we only sing — no blocking (that is, giving stage direction) until we’ve devoted almost a month to focusing on the notes, the words and the harmonies of these songs.

A guest post by Jim Voorhees, Morris Dancer
Jack Langstaff and Mary Swope walked toward us across the National Mall. It was a beautiful, sunny Spring day in 1983. The Foggy Bottom Morris Men were dancing in front of the Castle, near the carousel. Jack and Mary watched carefully. We talked. They needed a Morris team for a show they were doing in Lisner Auditorium that December. Would we be interested? Jack and Mary saw us do dances from villages in the Cotswolds, near Oxford. Like most Cotswolds teams, we wore bells, waved handkerchiefs, and clashed sticks.